Mad Men: "Man With a Plan" Review

“There was no chair for me!”

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May 19, 2013

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

Hey guys, thanks to covering Upfronts last week, I didn’t even see the last Mad Men until this morning. Rather than skip the review completely, I figured I’d do a very quick one before tonight’s new episode.

It was, of course, fascinating to see how the merger of SDCP and CGC began, with the initial chaos and oh-so many moments of confusion, trepidation and fighting for territory. Don and Ted’s dynamic is particularly intriguing as they both seem like potentially strong natural allies and also unavoidably trying to get the better of the other – whether it be via Don getting Ted drunk or Ted putting Don’s life in his hands, via Ted flying that plane. Ted’s statement, “I have better things to do, but obviously you did too,” when Don missed that meeting was a big one, as he’s not about to accept Don’s usual activity. The question is whether his presence can help Don change or simply lead to more conflict.

Don’s behavior with Sylvia was pretty unpleasant to watch, as he took on the role of domineering, slave master in a way we’ve only seen hinted at before. Saying she wasn’t allowed to think and “You exist in this room for my pleasure” was not exactly Don at his most charming – though the interesting thing was Sylvia went along with it for so long. The one thing that didn’t make this story completely work is not knowing Sylvia enough to fully understand why she would go along with it, to such an extreme – beyond some pretty basic knowledge that she was having some marital issues and seeking something elsewhere.

Still, it was good to see that she could assume -- and most importantly she was correct -- that when she really put her foot down and said it was time to stop, Don stopped. Don is a highly, highly flawed man, but it would be going down a much darker path if he actually tried to physically force her to continue his dark game. Once again, the question is, where does Don go next? He was investing a lot of himself into this affair and now it's over and he has completely checked out of his marriage with Megan - literally not hearing her as she talked about having a nice vacation together. It is difficult to see Don continually screw up the good things he has in his life and hopefully that can change sooner than later.

Finally silencing fan speculation about whatever happened to Pete’s mom, Dorothy finally returned after give years in this episode – and we discovered things were very bad for her, with Alzheimer's severely affecting her perception of the past and present. Pete being forced to take her in, in his small apartment, is certainly a very different element to throw at him and was used well as a huge obstacle for him to deal with while also navigating the changes at work. His paranoia about his job and his position are sky high, and now he has a situation at home pulling him out of the office. Pete’s ups and downs have been fascinating to chart, so it should be fun – if that’s the right word – to see how he handles all of this.

Having done episodes that dealt rather directly with the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, it’s understandable Matt Weiner chose to only have Robert Kennedy’s murder happen at the very end of this episode. Dorothy delivering the news to Pete, who assumed she was thinking of John Kennedy’s assassination, was a poignant touch.

Finally, let’s talk about Bob. Having only just seen this episode, I haven’t looked at any online reaction to Mad Men this past week, but I can only imagine Bob has some major newfound popularity. Hiring someone as good looking and charming as James Wolk and then having him play the office buffoon seemed to be a bit of fun on Mad Men’s part, but now it turns out there was more to it than that – as he suddenly seems a very viable new love interest for Joan. And I have to say, it was hard not to “Aww” at how he helped her in this episode, proving he’s also more self-aware than we knew about how he’s seen a as a nuisance – “Just walk with me and I’ll bother you the whole way out. No one will know.” Joan discretely saving his job was a notable moment, whether it be as a thank you or because maybe she does have some interest, despite what she told her mom.